After defeatnging The Pursuer and then being carried to The Lost Bastille by a giant eagle.

You will want enter The Lost Bastille from both entrances in order to collect all the items in this area. It is suggested first travelling via ship from No-Man's Wharf and lighting the bonfire accessible this way (details below in 'Arriving via Ship). After lighting this bonfire, travel via Eagle and progress through this section of The Lost Bastille first so that you obtain the Antiquated Key.

You can choose either way to first attack this area. It doesn't really matter. Both areas are covered in this walkthrough.

Arriving Via The Eagle

After defeating The Pursuer, continue through a hole in the wall. You will arrive in a courtyard. To the left down the chasm, a full set of Drangleic Armor can be found. To the right up the stairs is a birds next. Interacting with this will cause a giant eagle to take you to the Lost Bastille area.

Upon entering The Lost Bastille, light the bonfire and then continue on to a broken impassable bridge. The only way around is via the ledge on the left. Walk all the way around on the the ledge until you reach the corpse. Loot it for a Radiant Life Gem and a Large Titanite Shard. Jump through the hole in the wall and immediately take down the Hollow guard here.

Below you is a pack of dogs. Push the exploding barrel in front of you down on the dogs below to kill them all. Then slide down the ladder and open the door to enter the courtyard. Here a chest will contain Covetous Serpent Ring and Antiquated Key. The Antiquated Key will allow you to open a door on this level which leads to a good deal of loot. Return to the room with the dead dogs and climb the other ladder. Turn left on the walkway outside which leads to a tower guarded by a giant mummy wielding a club-like staff. He is slow moving and shouldn't pose much resistance. After dispatching him open the door and then talk to Lucatiel of Mirrah. She will give you a Humman Effigy if you hear all that she has to say.

The other door in this round tower links to the other end of the area you arrive at when taking the ship to arrive from No Man's Wharf. This tower is in-between the two areas. You have a choice of whether to continue on to the next bonfire by fighting a few giant Mummies and some dogs, or begin clearing No-Man's Wharf from the other bonfire accessed after arriving by ship. Which is the path we will follow in this walkthrough.

Arriving Via The Ship

You will arrive at a rocky shoreline. Make your way into the cave in the cliff face here. Inside you will find a steel barred lift. Enter it and proceed up to the Lost Bastille.

You will find youself in a broad tunnel staircase leading up with prison cells on either side of you.Several items can be found in the cells, including a Radiant Lifegem, Common Fruitand aSoul of a Proud Knight. About half way up you will find a cell on the left containing a bonfire.

After lighting the bonfire, continue up the stairs untill you reach outside. Along the walkway you will encounter the second Heide Knight of the game.

He is non-hostile unless you choose to attack him. He drops Hiedle Spear. After killing him (optional) turn around and spot the hulking enemy standing below a break in the wall.

You can either drop attack this guy, the scaffolding will break and you will land in a grassy courtyard or you can continue to the end of the bridge, jump down, jump down again and knock the boards off the hole in the wall to the immediate right. You can kill the dogs and the mummy using ranged magic attacks or a bow from the entry to the hole. Two dogs will join the fight here so be careful. After clearing the courtyard, proceed down a narrow alley hugging the wall to find a chest containing a Large Titanite Shard and Estus Shard.

Using the Antiquated Key

If you have completed the section accessable by arriving via Eagle you should now be in possesion of the Aniquated Key. There is another way to get the key besides going by Eagle with a few caveats:

The Tower Apart area can also be accessed from the main Lost Bastille area (when entered from No-Man's Wharf), this allows you to also skip the Pursuer boss fight. To open the tower door (the same tower you meet Lucatiel in) you need to throw a firebomb at it to blow up the crates that blocks it on the other side. You will however not gain access to the Tower Apart bonfire by taking this route, but that bonfire is not needed once the other tower door is opened, there's also a Radiant Lifegem and a Titanite Shard you can't reach from this side.

You may also skip the locked tower door by climbing up the ladder outside of the tower, falling out of the window onto the ledge underneath and to the left, and then rolling across the small gap to the other side of the door.

Return to the area of the courtyard that you first dropped into. Facing the rubble ramp, look at the building to the left. A portion of the wall has been boarded over, and can be destroyed with a weapon. Enter this room.

Fight your way onward. Behind more breakable partitions is a Royal Knight who will not attack until you get too close or attack him. After defeating him, note the broken jail door on the left side of the wall. Through it are new enemies, who resemble mummies, but can emit an explosive area attack once they get close to you. Draw them out into the main room,defeat them and collect the item from the corpse.

The door on the right side of the main room can be opened using the Antiquated Key. This will lead into another courtyard where you will be met by four dogs. There is a well with a rock suspended on the edge, but if you knock this one into the well, 3 explosive mummies will come up in a caged elevator. The use of ranged attacks can easily eliminate the mummies.

After they are defeated (or you can just leave the rock alone) you will be granted with the Wanderer Armor Set. Make sure they come out of the cage before you kill them or you could find the armor set unreachable. Okay there are two ways of entering the next room. The first is through the door in front of you, and the other is using a ladder on the right side of the building. In the room are a number of royal knights, one of which has a crossbow(notice the explosive barrels). They can be sniped from the balcony that is accessible via the ladder.

After the knights are killed, climb the ladder on the inside of the building to get access to a corpse with an item. Then return to the ladder on the outside of the house. This will lead to the higher section of the room. Remember the explosive barrels, blow them up to reveal a secret alcove. here you will find a corpse with items, Archdrake Robes and Archdrake Shield.

Continue foward to a large room with statues and three treasure chests, there are two enemies here. Notice that you can place a Pharros Lockstone in this room. It will mark two areas containing chests. One contains a Soul Vessel and the other a Wilted Dusk Herb. One way out of the room leads up a staircase and to a hole in the wall through which the player can jump to a bridge below. However, this will land the player in the path of several enemies (dogs and mummies with scythes). Instead, backtrack and return to the original courtyard where you drop attacked the Sentry, and continue down the main pathway. The other way out of the room is through one of the holes you open using the lockstone. There is an Iron Maiden elevator in the room which will take you up. Watch out for the exploding mummies at the very top, there are several of them so use ranged attacks if possible.

Continuing On to the Ruin Sentinals

Following this route you will encounter a dog, dispatch it and then interact with the switch killing two more dogs on the other side of the portcullis. Head up the stairway. At the top of the stairs is a sentry with an explosive barrel in front of it. Attack the sentry with an arrow or throwing knife. Hopefully he will walk forward and push the exploding barrel down the stairs. Dodge it so that it explodes against the wall revealing an area with a bonfire. If barrel doesn't explode, roll the barrel (it's easier to push if you dash) in front of the wall and then hit it with any fire weapon (fire arrows, spell, fire longsword) and it will explode the barrel. Right of the bonfire is a room containing McDuff's workshop. McDuff is a senile old man muttering about an ember(Dull Ember, that you can get later in the game). Inside you'll find Titanite Shard x5, Large Titanite Shard x2, Iron Arrow x10, and Heavy Bolt x10. Also you can get a Craftman's Hammer and a Twinkling Titanite from the chest he's sitting on, simply light the brazier of his room and rest at the bonfire after talking to him.

Proceed up the staircase and kill the the large enemy at the top. A dog is waiting on the right in an alcove and will also attack you. **This is the alcove from which you can shoot the two knights through the window. After dispatching these two enemies be sure to collect the Gold Pine Resin from the corpse in the alcove to the right. The upcoming boss's are susceptible to lightning damage so this may be usefull.

As you continue along the pathway, there will be a more dogs to dispatch. Continue towards the next mummy and beware of the explosive barrels (which you can use to your advantage). Climb the ladder on the ruined tower to find a corpse with a Large Titanite Shard. Go back down the ladder and as you back track away from the tower you can cross a fallen pillar to your left onto an open rooftop. There is a narrow bridge that leads to a door, beyond which is a challenging fight. When you open the door and step inside five royal guards will charge you. To deal with them, run back over the narrow brige and lead them to the courtyard. If you cross the narrow bridge back to the tower, they will jump after you and may fall to their death. If you have good stamina, poise and a shield simply lead them back onto the narrow bridge and carve them up while they are all bunched up. **You can also snipe two of the knights through the window. Stand where the dog was lurking around the corner as you came up the stairs and you can see through the window. You can hit one of the knights with magic and he and his companion will run up to the door at the top of the stairs. You can kill them with bolts or arrows from where you are currently standing, eliminating two of a fairly large number of knights in this area before crossing over the fallen stone. It is easier if you have a homeward spell easily accessible to escape if needed. If you step into the door and use the staff after you have dispatched the two knights through the window, you can kill the knights that will run at you from the left when you step in the door...or at least most of them. There are a lot of knights in this area so be prepared to either run or use the homeward spell to get out if you are in over your head.

If you don't kill the knights through the window you can alternatively apply another tactic. After opening the door, walk slowly while slightly hugging the left wall of the door but do not step inside it. Two of the royal guards from the front will charge you. Walk back on the bridge and then dispatch these two guards. After beating them,stepping inside will alert 3 more guards to your presence. Walk back outside and kill them or use a powerful spell and staff and kill them as they run at you.

That will leave only a few royal guards left in this building. Do not take the upper path through the hallway, instead travel down the stairs and clear them out and be careful of the explosive barrels. Open the door on the bottom level of this building, it will provide a shortcut! NOTE: I could not get the door to open. Finally, open the iron gate with the lever and proceed to kill more royal guards. You will be in a hall with prison cells; collect the goodies. The area contains the Soul of a Proud Knight, a Human Effigy, and a Radiant Life Gem. Backtrack to the ladder on the bottom floor and climb all the way to the top. Two guards will be close to your left. Dispatch them quickly as a few more guards around the corner to the right will attack you after you engage them. This little room leads back to the narrow bridge. Instead, turn around and spot the misty gate. Prepare for a challenging boss fight against the Ruin Sentinals. If you are in human form you can summon NPC* to assist you in this fight. I suggest going in yourself to start with (let's be realistic you will probably die on your first attempt) so that you can get a gauge on this boss fight before wasting a human effergy and summoning him. That being said he is extremely valuable in this fight. When you defeat the Ruin Sentiels he will most likely be at your side.

How to Beat the Ruin Sentinel Bosses

The sentinels are very weak to Lightning. They will also take some additional damage from Magic attacks.

This fight can be tricky no matter what you play as. The reason for this is that after you kill the first sentinel, the other two activate and you will have to face both at the same time, which is never a great thing in Dark Souls 2. Again, the NPC** you can summon for this fight makes it immensly easier.

The three Sentinals are armed with a small round sheild and a long pole-arm warhammer. The have a few combos including a double swipe and hammer attack. They also have a jumping hammer attack and a whirlwind spinning attack. Most of their attacks are easily evaded. A good sheild, stamina and poise will be a great asset in this fight. Their attacks are all blockable.

The challenge to this fight is that there are three of them and any mistake you make will cost you. Luckily there is plenty of room to move around in for this fight.

Melee Characters

Stay on the platform you initially land on. Keep your shield up at all times and constantly circle around the boss on his left side, away from his weapon. Their attack patterns are pretty obvious, and you will find clear opening to attack after their three hit move, or their lunge then swipe forward, which will then leave them open. The first Sentinal shouldn't pose too much of a problem.

As mentioned before, after dealing with the first, the other two activate. At this time you should jump down and prepare for a drawn out battle. Be carefull, when you jump down you will lose some health so you may need to heal yourself first. Alternatively you can catch your breath on the platform and after a while a second sentinal will jump up and start attacking you with a swinging blow. Take down his health as much as you can. As soon as the third sentinal jumps up onto the platform as well, it's time to retreat and drop down into the courtyard.

Melee characters are going to have to pick and choose their shots very carefully here, as opening up to hit one of them will leave you vulnerable to being hit by the other sentinel. Ranged items like throwing knives or magic pots are a huge plus here as you can pepper the bosses with damage as they follow you. Patience and careful strikes will eventually lead to victory.

This fight can be made incredibly easy if you become human and summon the phantom inside the jail cell just before the fog door. The phantom is a mage that fires extremely powerful Soul Arrows. Your combined might will drop the first sentinel quickly, and once you jump down, simply have the sentinels chase your character around while the phantom slams them with magic from a distance.

Ranged Characters

Casters and archers will have a slightly tougher time with the first sentinel, as the area to deal with him is smaller. Keep your shield up and roll often, although try not to fall off the ledge. Miracle players will find these three bosses to be quite easy as they are quite weak to lightning. After killing the first, jump down and start slinging spells at the other two. The bosses have a few gap closing attacks, so make sure to time your shots correctly, but overall your experience should be easier than that of a melee characters.

New Game Plus

NG+ version of the fight below! (Solo - No summons)

Video: Defeting the Ruin Sentinels

Continuing On

After defeating the Ruin Sentinel be sure to collect the treasure in the room the battle took place. There are a total of 5 hidden doors located on the bottom level but not all have treasure. The hidden door that has a ladder leading upwards has a second hidden door on the upper level leading out the main room and a corpse with treasure. Alternatively, you can jump to reach this platform. Now, head up the stairway and to the left (at the top of the stairs) is another hidden door and another chest.

Watch out for the explosive trap in the longer hallway lined with prison cells. Sprint through hallway and you will be able to use the Servant Quarters bonfire and continue on to Sinners Rise.

Scholar of the First Sin Changes

The Lost Bastille does have some significant changes that will change up the way you might approach exploring the area. The beginning section of the area no longer has Heldi Knights on the bridge. Instead you will find a few smaller enemies that will attack you as you cross the bridge.

In addition, there is a summon sign located near the Ruin Sentinals that can be used in combination with other summon signs, making the fight a bit easier for you to tackle. Keep in mind the more players you summon, the stronger the monsters will become. The Bastille Key that you need to access some areas is now located in a room across from the Servants Quarters bonfire.